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01:2 - Mission to the Sultans Estate
Erlastiel's Report A group of us plan to head to the Sultans estate to the north-west of Al Madena to clear it of any evil and hopefully gift it to the Sultana. Leaving the city We approached the Grand Visir to get enough resources to actually make our destination (she really appreciates ink bugs) and left her office with tokens for enough rations to survive. On our way to Yasmin's to claim our rations our 'mighty leader' Jose stopped to buy her flowers, the sap. We left the city heading in the direction we thought was accurate for the estate. After 5 days we ran out of water, I am bound by oath and honour and cannot tell you where we resupplied and all of the party will say the same. A few more days travel took us to the ruins of an old fortress. The Fortress While entering the tower Akira falls into a large pool of water and starts drowning, the combined effort of myself and Jose keeps him from drowning and he pulls himself the rest of the way out, however he is covered in leeches and very foolishly pulls them off immediately. We make our way upstairs and then along a corridor into another tower while most of us exit the corridor safely, Jose sets off a trap causing dozens of poisoned knives to shoot from an opening in the wall. In the next room we encounter a massive dog ( i know what you're thinking, doesn't sound very dangerous but tell that to poor Aiko whos whole upper torso was engulfed by the dogs mouth) a short fight followed before the dog fled wounded. Very little of import followed save for Jose killing a defenceless canine and thus earning my wrath, he would be wise to steer clear of me. On our return journey we stopped by the Maried Spires and collected more in bugs for Cicic and returned to Al Madena with no further trouble. Aiko's report of the mission 'Leaving the city' The party was bought together to journey out to the Sultan of Sunfall's estate, originally to see what was left. We talked to Sabir to get some supplies to see if she would back us on our journey, she gave us each 25 days worth of rations. After that we exchanged our tokens and left the city with Erulastiel leading the party, myself scouting and Jose the party leader and quest organiser as the chef. 'The Journey' We ran out of water for the other party members to drink five days after leaving the city and through my scouting we found a small supply, however as stated in Erulastiel's report we have been made honour bound not to tell where we found this supply. We travelled for a number of more days to only discover that Erulastiel had led us in the wrong direction, and from some of her stories I have discovered that we should not let her lead where we are going. 'Desert Rocks' We ended up at the buried ruins of a former fortress that at the time we believed was Fort Yanni, our halfling fighter Jarhem climbed into the ruins first and went up the stairs while our Oni Templar companion Akira managed to get into the the window, however she tumbled down the stairs and into the water. I stayed outside for a short time fixing Jose's backpack that he ripped while climbing inside the fort. I soon followed the others, climbing in with some help from Erulastiel. We explored the top of the tower then followed a tunnel to the next tower where I discovered some shrinking paw prints in the sand. Our leader Jose managed to set off a trap in the passage and almost killed himself and Jarhem with poison knives that shot from the wall. 'The Canine' When we entered the next room we discovered that this was the lair of a large canine that is able to change its size. It quickly lowered its jaws over me and engulfed me. The others fought the beast until it dropped me from it's maw and it scampered off into a nearby tunnel. Myself and Akira followed suit leaving the others to check the room for any items of importance. Akira stopped in time to prevent himself from falling in the water, however I did not, pushing both him and the dog into the water. After a failed shapeshifting attempt due to a panic while almost drowning I turned into a strange tenticled creature, which I believe is now a jellyfish, I changed back to my usual form and swam to shore, covered by leaches, however I left them to feed and drop off. The size changing canine was now a small form and still tried to eat me, however that is it's natural instinct when it sees a potential food source. Akira picked the dog up and carried it out of the fortress, the dog whining and complaining the entire way. Jarhem fed the dog so it would not eat us, however Jose then killed the dog, being injured by, and injuring, Jarhem in the process. 'The Return to Al Madena' We then proceded back to Al Madena, stopping at the Maried Spires to collect Ink bugs for Cicic, though Sabir was not happy that we had not completed what we had intended to complete, though she was glad that we had discovered a new potential water source for Al Madena. Jose's Report The Mission Looking at the aged map at Cicic's, I spotted a curious area to the North labelled "Sultan's Estate". I thought to myself "why, that must belong to one of the former Sultans of Al Madena (May Hewa rest their souls), I must journey there to investigate. Perhaps I can return it to the Sultana herself, and rid it of any foul residents who may have decided to live there in her absence." I knew there would be great glory and gold to be gained from such a venture, so I endeavoured to gather a company with whom to set out for the Sultan's Estate. Before long, I had assembled a band of some of the finest adventurers that Al Madena had to offer (or so I thought...). There was, of course, myself, the handsome, humble, heroic templar of Hewa; a brother templar by the name of Akira, a rather tall Oni; Jar-hen, a Halfling fighter with a shifty look in his eye; Aiko, an Oni druid, who I suspected was practising heresy; and an Elf named Erlastiel, who had a fearsome appearance that was enough to strike terror into even my noble heart. Introductions aside, I thought it best to seek a patron, who might provide us food and water for such a long trip. One of our company suggested we try to contact Sabir, the Sultana's vizier, which I thought a good idea. We were fortunate to have Hewa's blessing that day, and we were able to meet Sabir at short notice. Any rumours of Sabir's temper were - we discovered - completely unfounded, as she turned out to be a most wise and charming young woman (Even if she did seem a bit stressed). She informed us that the Sultan's Estate was actualy the property of the Sultan of Sunfall, a neighbouring settlement in the North. However, she was rather keen for us to see whether anyone still resided in Sunfall and the Estate itself. She generously granted us 25 days' worth of rations, and Erlastiel gave Sabir a few inkbugs, as a token of our gratitude, with which Sabir was most pleased. Leaving Sabir, we headed to the Bag of Plenty to collect our rations. Knowing that I had accidently insulted Yasmine, I thought that a bunch of lilacs may alleviate the situation. The sum I paid for them was certainly outrageous, but nevertheless necessary to restore the young woman's confidence. Yasmine was speechless when she saw the beautiful bouquet, and I was quickly forgiven my earlier faux pas. I proceded to inform her that the shield I had purchased from Jamal last season was, frankly, of poor quality and I would have done much better by purchasing one from her store. She was most pleased and offered me a generous discount on the shield I earlier refused, which I gratefully accepted. After getting supplies, we set out on our journey out of the city. The Journey For the most part, our journey out of the city was successful. I suggested we head first for Fort Yanni which was along the way to Sunfall, so that we would have an opportunity to find some supplies if we needed them. Aiko proved himself to be an excellent scout and I, a proficient quartermaster, but our trailblazer (who I won't name, but she knows who she is) had the dreadful luck to lead us astray, even though she was familiar with this part of the desert. We were fortunate enough to happen upon a small oasis, but we were sworn to secrecy about its location, and a templar's word is his life! However, I will say that Aiko was most useful to us, he impressed me with his serenity and skills at negotiation, and without him we may have died of thirst in the desert. Once our canteens were filled to overflowing, we set off once again. Before long, we discovered a path leading directly what looked to be a group of towers buried under the sand. This must be Fort Yanni! The Fortress There was a large window in one of the great towers that led to a set of spiral stairs, descending down into the darkness. Out of water and running low on rations, we figured that there had to be some water in one of these towers; we had no choice, we had to enter. Jar-hen easily slipped in and started climbing the staircase. Akira followed him, but his size gave him considerable difficulty and rather ungracefully tumbled over the stairs and into a pool of water at the bottom of the stairs. Elastriel entered with ease, but I unfortunately had a spot of trouble. As I was climbing in, my rucksack snagged upon a stone, and a sharp tug from my muscular arms had the undesirable effect of tearing my backpack in two. Fortunately for me, Aiko (may Hewa bless him) was kind enough to start sewing my backpack back together. What a good sort! I was a tad confused to see Elastriel tossing a rope down over the side of the staircase, until I looked down and saw Akira on the other end of it. I strolled down the stairs to see if I could help in some way. Akira looked dreadful. He was shivering and some small black creatures had attached themselves to his skin. I attempted to use my whip to pull the rope closer to the edge, but this was to no avail. It was a fortunate thing that Elastriel was with us, she managed to hold that rope with a strength I have never seen the like of before. Akira eventually managed to climb the rope and immediately began removing the black creatures on his body. He quickly discovered that they were leeches once his skin had started burning; he certainly won’t be doing that again! The next minute I had to stop myself from laughing when Jar-hen walked down the stairs, almost tripping himself over with three swords strapped to his back. He then proceeded to fill up his water canister, and before we could stop him his hands were a writhing mass of leeches. He was smart enough, however, to refrain from removing them. Aiko had repaired my backpack, after two attempts; such a kind fellow! Once we had readied ourselves and filled our water canisters, we decided to pass through one of the passageways leading to another tower. Those with torches forged ahead and I, obviously as the most fearless one, took up the rear. We were following the trail of what appeared to be huge canine footprints, gradually diminishing in size the further we advanced. I spotted a stone on the wall which appeared to be out of place on the wall. I was convinced I had seen a similar architectural feature in one of the temples of Hewa. I confidently twisted the stone and pushed it sideways. The wall began to open, as stone shifted and mortar fell, but woe was upon me and the stone was not the secret passageway that I had assumed, but a horrible trap! I dove out of the way of a volley of knives that erupted from the opening. One of the knives ricocheted off the stone ceiling and embedded itself in the small of my back. I felt a little ill as I tore the knife from my back, and observing it I found that the tip was coated in a nasty poison. I looked to my companions for aid, only to discover that they had bigger problems to deal with; much bigger. An enormous hound had wrapped its maw around Aiko, whose legs were wildly flailing about trying to get free. I immediately charged at the rotten beast and brought my flail down on its paw in a crushing blow. The creature yelped and kicked Akira and I into a wall with such tremendous strength that it knocked the wind out of the both of us. Jar-hen bravely thrust his spear into the creature’s chest, upon which the hound suddenly increased in size, filling the room. Its tail had now become like a great club which I’m sure was what it felt like to Akira, who advanced towards the hound and was swept aside by a blow from the mighty tail. I preferred to use one of the knives I had collected to toss at the hound’s foot, which caused it great distress. The beast suddenly shrank and bolted off down the tunnel we had come from, as fast as its three functioning legs could carry it. Akira chased after the beast, as did Aiko who had managed to free himself from the hound’s jaws. The remaining three of us checked the tower we were in for anything valuable. I thought I had found the skeleton of Heba, a great hero of Hewa, but later I found out that I was mistaken. Mounting the stairs, I discovered Jar-hen looting the remains of three paladins of Hewa, and noticed that one of them was wearing a strange amulet, bearing the many eyes of Hewa, which I promptly took before Jar-hen took the opportunity. We quickly exited the tower, only to find that Akira and Aiko had captured the hound instead of killing it. Jar-hen then fed the creature two whole days’ worth of rations, a very foolish thing to do! The creature started to grow and I was worried it might try to eat someone again. I swung my flail at it, attempting to end its miserable existence; but that blighter Jar-hen, stuck his spear out to try and prevent me from doing so. The spear left a nasty gash on my arm, and I learn that my suspicions for distrusting him were not unfounded. Fortunately I had put an end to the evil beast, but instead of thanking me the party were very sour and annoyed at me for what I’d done. I can only assume that the hound must have put some evil spell over my companions that blinded them to its true nature. Only a noble Templar, such as myself, could be immune to its effect. We then decided to return to the city, lacking enough rations to continue on to Sunfall. The Return On the way back, we went via the Maried Spires, on Elastriel’s prompting, as she claimed to have found inkbugs there, a precious commodity in Al Madena. The journey there was a success, and we did indeed find the inkbugs we were hoping for. We eventually did arrive back at the city, starved, sick and weak, but we had returned alive, so we were grateful to Hewa for that! We sold our inkbugs to Cicic for the princely sum of 80 gold (part of which I used to purchase some water lilies for Yasmine). Cicic also informed us that we were actually not in Fort Yanni, but the Desert Rocks Fortress instead, much to my disappointment. Jar-hen paid a magical researcher to investigate the nature of the swords he had found in the tower, it turns out they are magical swords that will never break. Unfortunately Sabir was rather unhappy that we had not visited Sunfall, but we told her of the fortress we had discovered, and the source of water within it, and that seemed to placate her somewhat. Anyhow, I think it’s time for a well-earned break; until next adventure, that is! Category:Actual Play